What can you do with 19,500 INR?

hojason

Hello everyone,

So I posted something similar to this in the Agra forum, but thought I might get a better diversity of responses here.

I'm going in for a fellowship in India starting in September and will have a stipend of Rs. 19,500. My location choices are Agra, Indore, Meerut, and Gadchiroli.

Given that I'd like to live a simple lifestyle, or at least on par with my Indian colleagues at the NGO, how comfortable will I be with Rs. 19,500 for a monthly budget?

Also, anyone have any advice on learning languages? I've got scads of Hindi resources, but nothing for Marathi or Urdu.

Thanks,

Jason

hsagar63

It depends on where will you be located.

Aishah

It also depends on your accommodation - staying in a hostel for instance would be cheaper than renting an apartment. Possibilities would be flat sharing too. If your accommodation costs are low, you can live quite easily on that amount of money anywhere.

As for learning languages - I would wait and see where you are based, and then see which language is the most useful for you to learn. You might find a local primary school teacher who can coach you in the 'local' language. Hindi is very useful however for many areas of India.

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"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

hitanshu

Agree with Aishah - hindi will do. Plus you'll pick up the local dialect over time.

As for the money, 19500 is just okay. Why?
Assuming costs of a 2bhk at 6-7k (excl indore) and you share - assume some 1.5k towards food (unless you drink or love lots of sugarless fruit juice).
Assume some 7-8k per month for travel (some local, some to other parts of the country) and you will have about 5-6k left over with you every month - which is a decent margin money for any eventualities.

The other option I'd suggest whole heartedly for you - is to buy a motorcycle on arrival (over six months you'll save in local travel/touring what you lose in depreciation) or do some Power of attorney transfer etc. (you can get some decent ones in 30-40k max - something reliable like a honda unicorn versus a used bullet)

That way you can see alot of India very efficiently and have more fun as well. YMMV ofc.

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SMASH!!!!

AwayFromHome

Very good advice.

Just to add - make sure you have a plan for emergencies - medical or just urgent situations. Most probably you will not need to worry about an emergency, but have something planned anyway. Not a bad idea, no matter where you are.

Happy travels!

hitanshu

Couple of other things to add:
Buy a medical insurance on arrival. I CANNOT stress this enough. Carry a print of your insurer's clinics wherever you go. A relative of mine had a severe fracture last week, and out of a bill of 45k (and climbing) - only 1k has been paid. Bless insurance.

And please believe in cash. Cards are nice things - hygiene factor really. Even when you come, have some 10-20k ready for a rainy day aside.

hojason

Well, I love no-sugar-added juice of just about any kind. I'm actually really excited about that.

And the fellowship also provides (in addition to the stipend) medical and emergency evacuation insurance, so most emergencies should be covered. So it looks like I should be okay.

On another note, are bikes really that easy to come by? (And that affordable?) I hadn't even thought of that: my contract is only about a year and I didn't think it would be worth it. And what do you mean by Power of Attorney transfer in relation to the bike?

I really appreciate all the help! I'll be sure to check back in when I know exactly where I'm going!

hitanshu

lol. You see its a simple logic. The sugar free juices come for 85 bucks a liter. That translates to some 1000-1500 bucks of spending a month additional.

if you like drinking beer good, cheap rum, even better. if you drink only wine, you're in somewhat trouble - add about 3-5k per month.

motorbikes in india are affordable. I ofc meant USED bikes - new ones come for 60-65k. power of attorney would be that since u wouldn't have address proof - instead of outright purchase - working out an arrangement where you take on all liability. others can explain better maybe.

but yeah, back where u come from, those would be the pizza delivery bikes

hojason

Hmm, spendy juice. Oh well. I was thinking of the cheap juice stands I ran into in Mumbai when I visited a couple years ago. If I remember right, they sold a glass for about 1-3 Rs. depending on the neighborhood. Not too important anyway; I can do without a whole lot of juice if need be.

And I will definately look into a *used* bike when I get there. That sounds like it would be an incredible way to see the country in my off time--and cheaper, too. Do you need a special license or anything?

hitanshu

no no. those will be there. basically sugarcane juice for 5/10 bucks - other juice (sometimes sugar added) for 10-30 bucks. but till your tummy gets battle set here, i'd suggest the tetra pak juices

Special license no, just your intl license, your india visa and all should do.

Also learn some bit of hindi enough to pay INDIAN rates at places. a colleague on work permit in India successfully paid indian rates everywhere incl the Taj - he argued that as a work permit - he had almost all rights in line with an indian - don't look at my skin, look at my visa types. And with you working with an NGO, you should be able to wangle that angle well (you're earning a modest sum in rupees, no reason why you should pay $$$)

Paresh

Looking a the heading, reminds of this excellent video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1t4fNVp74Q